It was a frigid morning back in December and many folks had gathered on the San Lorenzo River levee for the Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk. Just before the start of the race, Santa Cruz's Andrew Walgren, then 13, made his way through the crowd and took his spot at the front. Like many of the events he enters, the front is where he finished that day as well.

Walgren is now preparing for Sunday's Wharf to Wharf, Santa Cruz County's annual marquee running event. He is seeded and will pin on lucky number 100. He hopes it's an indicator of how he'll finish in the race.

"I really want to try to be with the first 100 men," Walgren said while warming up on the Santa Cruz High track last week. "I think it's possible, but probably not this year."

Throughout the race's 39 years, the top 100 men and women have received special recognition. In fact, until this year -- when officials will unveil a microchip system to time all 15,000 registered participants -- only the top 100 received official times and places.

Now 14, Walgren hopes to become the youngest to ever break into this group. He may have some time to do it. Although previous years' results do not account for the ages of these elite runners, race director Kirby Nicol said, "We are pretty sure, however, that no one under the age of 18 has ever cracked our top 100."

No male runner, at least. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel's history of the race, 13-year-old Debbie Rudolph won the women's title in the second Wharf to Wharf in 1974 and Terri Schneider won it in 1977 while still a student at Santa Cruz High.

Still, Walgren realizes even his best effort might not be enough to meet his goal this year.

He has checked the results and knows last year's 100th man finished in 35 minutes, 23 seconds. Walgren, meanwhile, has set a conservative time goal of 37 minutes for the six-mile course between the Santa Cruz and Capitola wharves. With a smile, though, he admits he hopes to be closer to 36:00.

Walgren, who will be a freshman at Santa Cruz High in the fall, hasn't always been so fast. A modest young man, he is quick to point out the learning curve with his footed passion has been a process.

He tells of his days playing baseball and how he always thought he would do well at running, he said, "because I was the fastest runner on my team." Once at Mission Hill Middle School, he signed up for the cross country team. Under the guidance of coach Maritza Rodriguez, he began to train for competition.

"At the first meet, I thought I was going to do really well," he said. "Instead, I got destroyed. I was sore, tired and I came in with the back of the pack. The rest of the season was the same."

Undeterred, Walgren ran a bit over the summer and tried out for cross country again in his seventh-grade season. This time he netted top-10 finishes at every meet. He was hooked.

Coach Rodriguez said she was not at all surprised to see the off-season improvement.

"Andrew is a hard working, devoted young man with a deep passion for the sport," she said.

Walgren also trains with mentor Javier Naranjo at the Santa Cruz Track Club Youth Group, which meets once or twice a week during the school year. Naranjo said he feels Walgren's outlook is as impressive as his sub-40-minute 10-kilometer time and 5:14 mile.

"He is a great listener and translates instruction into action. His desire and willingness to improve comes from within" Naranjo said.

Naranjo and Rodriguez both compared the joy, form and beauty of Walgren's running to that of another young running standout: the legendary Steve Prefontaine.

Walgren's parents, Jim and Kerry, encourage his interest in running. And his interest in running has encouraged them to lace up their sneakers."Going to races as a family has us all excited to run," Kerry said. "His brother Christian has taken to cross country and track. Even I am running, which I haven't done in years."

While his parents recognize his times are improving, they said the growth in his personal life has them even more in awe.

"He is a natural coach," his mom said in an email. "He knows everyone's personal-best times and is excited when they break them. He has a real joy and enthusiasm for whomever is running."

It is still early in Walgren's running career and he is just beginning to test his limits. If the goals he has set for himself are not meant to be this year, no doubt he will be happy just to have shared the streets of Santa Cruz with so many accomplished athletes.

IF YOU GO

39th ANNUAL WHARF TO WHARF

WHAT: A 6-mile footrace from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to the Capitola Wharf